Yesterday mother nature showed us that she can never be taken for granted.
With a dramatic unseasonal flourish, an icy blast of rain and hail raced up the south island yesterday. Yet we awoke this morning to calm and clear bue skies and the return to springtime once more.
But mother nature left behind a wonderful snowy blanket covering the Southern Alps.
Barry took these photos - from Arthur's Pass (where the TransAlpine train traverses the mountains on its way to Greymouth on the West Coast from here in Christchurch) to further south enroute to Mount Cook (out of shot).
All too brief, by this afternoon the snow was receding.
